4-v7;3LeA-4/44007,:e_i Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 N., Nor SECRET 28 June 1968 MEMORANDUM FOR: Staff Personnel SUBJECT : Letter of Information GENERAL 1. Saigon Situation: The Saigon Bureau continued to operate under extremely hazardous conditions as the city was subjected to intensive Viet Cong rocket and mortar shelling on an almost daily basis. On 11 June during a heavy attack in the first, second, and third precincts several rockets impacted in the streets around the bureau and near the dwellings of Staff employees. The landline between the bureau and the Embassy communications center was disrupted several times during the month which made it necessary to hand carry tapes to the Embassy; this trip requi d military escort during the 1900 to 0700 curfew period. 2. Paris Talks: The direct teletype circuit between London Bureau and the U.S. delegation in Paris is now in operation 12 hours daily, and pertinent traffic from the FBIS field bureaus to the delegation has reached an average of more than 18,000 words per day. New point-to-point Paris/Moscow/Hanoi radioteletype circuits, which were especially instituted by VNA for the Paris talks, are being monitoied by the Caribbean, Okinawa, and West Coast bureaus. These circuits carry speeches, press conferences, etc. by both the American and Vietnamese sides. At the request of the U.S. Delegation 10 copies of the East Europe Daily Report were added to FBIS publications sent to Paris. Ten propagand ? support cables were sent to the delegation during the month. 50X1 3. Assassination of Senator Kennedy: The Propaganda Analysis Division issued a Special Report on 13 June reviewing and analyzing communist propa-ganda reaction to the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, in response to numerous expressions of interest in the tenor of Soviet, East European, and North Vietnamese reactions in particular. Advance distri-bution copies of this report were forwarded to Presidential Assistant Walt W. Rostov by higher authority. 50X1 SECRET Group 1 Excluded from automatic down-grading and declassification 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Nose Niue SECRET SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 June 1968 ' -SERVICES AND REQUIREMENTS 4, Propaganda Analysis: The Propaganda Analysis Division responded to a number of State Department inquiries on the content and background of current communist propaganda relating to the Paris teaks. A 1 June NHAN DAN commentator article which, as transmitted by VNA in English, departed from the standard language in stating Hanoi's demand for a bombing cess-ation prompted a flurry of questions from the Research East Asia and Research Soviet Bloc branches of INR and from the State Department Viet-nam Desk. More than 48 hours later, VNA corrected the passage to restore the standard language. At PAD's request Okinawa Bureau supplied versions of the passage in French and in Vietnamese that had been transmitted at the sane time as the original VNA English. The standard language had been used in both cases, supporting the conclusion that the aberrant language in the original English version had been a VNA translation error. This conclusion was passed on to the Department and to the U.S. delegation in Paris. ? The State Department Vietnam desk relayed an inquiry from Presidential Assistant Walt W. Rostow regarding a Moscow commentary which said "a direct approach to the National Liberation Front" must be made on "an end to the acts of war of South Vietnamese patriots." PAD advised the requester that the commentary was broadcast in German only, that it seemed designed to make the usual point that the South Vietnamese must settle their own affairs, and that it did not appear to have signif-icant bearing on the Soviet position regarding U.S.-NFLSV contacts. Other questions included requests for background on Hanoi propaganda treatment of Ambassador Harriman's various suggestions in Paris that speeches at the talks not be made public, and for information on treatment of the Paris talks by the North Vietnamese army paper QUAN DOI NHAN DAN as compared with treatment by the party paper NHAN DAN. The 14 June report in the biweekly Special Memorandum series on i"Vietnamese Communist Propaganda on the U.S. Elections," requested by the Director of In reviewed Hanoi comment on the U.S. domestic political scene prompted by the assassination of Senator Kennedy. All Hanoi propa-ganda references to Senator McCarthy over the past three months were assembled for the office of the Director of /NR, in a service for Secretary Rusk. 7'2 SECRET 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Declassified M Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 SECRET SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 23 June 1968 ? S. .Press and Document Exploitation: The London PMU has been assigned responsibility for processing current information from the French communist paper L'HUMANITE and the Italian communist paper L'UNITA, On 17 May the German Bureau published its last issue of the Weekly Report of the East German Press which had been distributed to more than 100 consumers; basic materials formerly carried in the "Report" are now being airpouched to Headquarters. The Bangkok Bureau has added the CEYLON DAILY NEWS, HINDUSTAN TIMES, HINDU, PAKISTAN OBSERVER snd twn Rurmscs-language newspapers te its piess monitoring list. Linguists from the USSR Division translated two TASS items from PRAVDA and IZVESTIYA of IS June on the U.S.-Soviet consular convention in response to a priority request froth the White House Situation Room, which had been alerted to the articles by Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin. An Asia Division linguist translated a 229-page Arabic document on the movement of communist country nationals in and out of Lebanon. Various French press sources were exploited in the Europe, Africa, and Latin America Division to obtain information concernine reports of French-Israeli cooperation in the field of rocketry. 6. Special Services: A copy of a 1956 letter by North Vietnam's General Giap, furnished by PAD, was supplied on request to the Department of State's Office of the Legal Advisor. In response to a request from the Special Research Staff, an Asian Division linguist translated a 25-page speech delivered in Budapest by Syrian communist chief Khalid Bakdash during a late March communist conference in which he attacked Rumania. A Videotape supplied by the Key West Bureau provided confirmation, of the whereabouts of Cuban President Dorticos, whose absence from public appearances for nearly two months had caused speculation about his health. 7. Support to U.S. Missions: The 374th Tactical Airlift Wing, Okinawa, was added as a lateral recipient for field bureau eaterial on Far East topics. The U.S. Southern Command in the Canal Zone phoned Headquarters to request a substantial package of data on Soviet broadcasting and press efforts to and in Latin America wit' 1 t .s forwarded to the con-sumer through the Panama Bureau. 8. Texting Requirements: The first complete compilation of mandatoreouirements was sent to all field bureaus during the month. r - 3 - SECRET 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Nose SECRET SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 June 1968 PUBLICATIONS 9. Supplements: The following supplements to the Eastern Europe Daily Report were published during the past month: "Materials on Internal Czechoslovak Political Developments, Volume X," dated 23 May, 45 pages (translated by the contractual facility); "Materials on International Scientific Session in East Berlin on Karl Marx's 150th Birthday, 2-4 May 1968," dated 24 May, 77 pages (prepared by the German Bureau); "Materials on Czechoslovak Political Developments, Volume I," dated 12 June, 87 pages (45 pages prepared by the contractual facility); "Materials on Czechoslovak Political Developments, Volume II," dated 14 June, 84 pages (40 pages translated by the contractual facility);'"Materials on Yugoslavia PnlitirAl .ind Economic Developments," dated 21 June, 58 pages. 10. Reports Consolidation: A further reduction in the number of serial reports issued by the FBIS domestic contractual facility was achieved on 1 June when 12 translation series on Eastern Europe were consolidated into the following three publications: Translations on Eastern Europe: Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs; Trans-lations on Eastern Europe: Economic and Industrial Affairs; and Trans-lations on Eastern Europe: Scientific Affairs. ,This consolidation has reduced the number of serials from 138 a year ago to 84 at the present time. 50X1 50X1 11. New Title: The Foreign Press Digest: Communist China Agri-culture has been retitled Foreign Press Digest: Communist China Military, Political, Economic Data. 50X1 12. New Bibliography: The Annotated Bibliography of FBIS Serial Publications has ber undated and -trued. A copy will be forwarded to. each field bureau. 50X1 PIELD OPERATIONS 13. French Crisis Coverage: The domestic crisis in France required special coverage of the French radio by the BBC, which processed several speeches and statements by President DeGaulle. The Paris radio was covered closely during the short-lived AFP strike on 29 May, as Was "Radio Europe No. One," a commercial longwave station with transmitters in West Germany, but programmed from Paris studies. Close coordination continued between the London Bureau and th Caribbean Bureau which covers AFP, in connection with the French crisis. 4-. _ SECRET 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 N., see s IftE t SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 June 1968 14. Czech-Monitor: The Czechoslovak monitor detailed by the BBC to the Austrian Bureau wrs extended twice, for a total of six weeks. 15. Broadcasting Developments: Radio Peking on 22 May inaugurated a series of special English and French language programs beamed to Europe. The programs, strdngly supporting the French revolutionaries, were suspended in early June. An observation during early June indicated that Peking's Russian-language broadcasts, with up to five programs transmitted concurrently, is using an elaborate network of over 50 shortwave and mediumwave transmitters for at least one program during early morning hours in China. The trans-mitters being used are those employed to broadcast China's regional services during the day... The Hokkaido Bureau is catering as much of the Peking Russian service as its resources and Soviet jamming permit. ENGINEERING 16. Bangkok Bureau: The Bangkok Bureau's lease has been extended to September 1975. This extension has made it practical for the bureau to augment its antenna syatem by installing six additional antennas. These 1 antennas have iMornvea reception and will facilitate a full-scale cruising survey. MISCELLANEOUS 50X1 50X1 , . ' 17. Briefings and Visits: On 24 June Mr.. Richard Cushing, Acting Director of the Voice of America, Mn Francis Ronalds,.Program Manager, and MY. Russell Splane, Chief of IBS News Division, visited FBIS Headquarters. - Visitors to field bureaus included: Lt. Col. Walter hi; Crandall, Commander, Support Detachment, 500th MIG, to the Okinawa Bureau; Lt. Col. :L. R. Jones, Chief of Operations Division, Communications and Electronics Directorate, USSOUTHCOM, to the Panama Bureau; Messrs. Franre and Hersch-berger, VOA, to the London Bureau. 18. Visits of Foreign Nationals: Bureau Chiefs should notify the Chief, Operatibns Group, well in advance concerning plans of foreign nationals to visit Headquarters. Thia is necessary to make appropriate arrangements for their admission to FBIS Headquarters offices. - 5 - SECRET 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Nee SECRET SUBJECT: 19.. forth be limited Headquarters rant of e rapidly. Letter of Information, 28 June 1968 Editorial Assignments: As a normal policy editors will hence-tours overseas without a the career develop-assigned overseas more 50X1 to no more assignment. i+nrq Ana +fl n? than two condecutive This is designed to enhance nit new editors to be 20. AEC Publication: FBIS has received from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Division of Intelligence, a copy of the AEC publi-cation, "Selected Foreign Radio and reqA RenArtg " compendium of FBIS items of interest to AEC officials. 50X1 21. Commendations: A member of the political section of the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane visited the Bangkok Bureau 6 May with a congratulatory message from Ambassador Sullivan. The Ambassador sent word that he per-sonally reads the bureau's file and finds it "indispensable." It was reported that copies of FBIS intercepts of Laotian communist clandestine rr4ios are passed tothe International ControlCommission-end Laotian Premier Souvanna Phouma. 50X1 U.S. Ambassador to Korea William Porter wrote a letter of appre-ciation to State/INR for an FBIS paper prepared for him by Asia Division concerning the Korean and Mongolian languages. The Ambassador described the paper as a "very interesting commentary." 50X1 ADMINISTRATION 22. Employee Conduct: Bureau chiefs are reminded that all staff during the month of July. 50X1 employees are reauired to ead 1* 50X1 ?4. Regulatory Issuances: The following regulatory issuances were disseminated: SECRET 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Nod Nati SECRET SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 June 1968 50X1 25. Training: During h eriod the following personnel attended training courses: 50X1 a. Chief, ME/AF/WE/LA Branch, Publications Division - Advanced Intelligence Course, Defense IntelligenceSchool, 19 February 7 24 May. Chief, Wire Services Staff, and Chief, Political and Military Branch, USSR Divas on - Advanced Management (Planning) Course; 19 - 24 May. -T - SECRET 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 Nime Nike SECRET SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 June 1968 PERSONkEL 26.. New Employees Assignment Editor, Publications Division Editor, Publications Division 27. Reassignments From , Aetihg Chief Asia Division 28. Resignations To Chief Editor Editor London Bureau Wire Services Staff Teletype Supervisor Teletype Supervisor Key West Bureau Caribbean Bureau Editor Editor Saigon Bureau Publications Division Editor Editor Okinawa Bureau Publications Division Chief 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 Acting Chief Asia Division 50X1 Editor Editor Publications Div. Caribbean Bureau Area Officer Area Officer Asia Division Europe/Africa/LA Division From Editor, Publications Division Clerk Typist, Publications Division Area Officer, USSR Division - 8 - SECRET 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 I Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3 NS, ?ftel SECRET SUBJECT: Letter of Information, 28 June 1968 29. Retirements From Special Assistant to Chief, Production 50X1 (Disability) Group 30. Awards: - Chief, Engineer, Mediterranean Bureau - Certifi-50X1 cate of Distinction for meritorious performance of duty at the Mediterranean Bureau. - Electronic Specialist, Mediterranean Bureau - 50X1 Certificate of Distinction for meritorious performance of duty at the Mediterranean Bureau. - Electronic Specialist, Mediterranean Bureau - Certificate of Distinction for meritorious performance of duty at the Mediterranean Bureau. The Saigon Bureau was awarded a "Citation for Meritorious Service" as a unit for "sustained extra effort and unusual devotion to duty by bureau personnel during the 1968 Viet Cong Tet Offensive." The citation, signed by the Director, FBIS, was forwarded to the bureau in late June. Copies of the citation were placed in personnel folders of bureau Staff and nnn -Staff ilw_les on duty at the time of the Tet Offensive. ng rector Foreign Broadcast Information Service - 9 - SECRET 50X1 50X1 50X1 50X1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/15: CIA-RDP83-00586R000300270009-3

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